Historic
by Sokkaweekly
Summary: A humble blacksmith's apprentice has a run in with a perky nobleman's daughter. Ty Lokka. AU.


The steady clang of metal striking metal sounded out into the warm afternoon air. Stopping for a moment, Sokka inspected his work. The steel had cooled during his efforts and would need heating further.

A glance at the forge revealed the flames had gotten a bit low, but that was easy enough to fix. The fire crackled and hissed as the bellows pumped oxygen into it, fueling the blaze and increasing the temperature.

Placing the metal bar into the inferno, Sokka walked over to the water basin, cupping his hands into the cool water to clean his face of grime and sweat.

As he was drying himself off with a coarse linen towel, sounds of a commotion caught his ears. His brow furrowed and he looked toward the open doorway, but nothing revealed itself. Shaking his head, Sokka turned back to the forge.

And promptly cursed as he took in the sparkling flames. The fire was bright yellow, little sparks of metal dancing in the blaze like fireworks. Snarling, he yanked the end of the bar free from the heat.

It was no use. His distracted inattentiveness had caused him to ruin the sword he had been working on. The metal had warped and burned in the raging conflagration beyond all repair.

He threw the destroyed remnants to the ground in disgust. Master Piandao would be so disappointed in his lack of discipline. Rage and frustration built up, and he kicked the anvil in his fury.

And promptly regretted it as pain shot up his leg. Rubbing his injured toes, Sokka listened to the noises coming from the outside world. They had gotten louder. Curiousity took him, and he headed towards the door too see what the problem was.

The sun shone brightly in the sky, radiant rays coating the world with heat and light. Out in the middle of the street were three figures mounted atop magnificent horses. Behind the three stood six men, armoured and alert. Shyu, the town leader, stood before them, his head bowed low.

The middle figure stood slightly before the other two and was the one making most of the noise, it seemed. Their voice was clear, carrying over to Sokka with ease.

"But if you're incapable of even greeting your betters properly, then perhaps I should make an example out of you. I'm sure your replacement will grant me the respect I am due."

The voice seemed to be female, strong and confident. Sokka stepped forward some more to see them better, squinting a bit in the intense sunlight.

Shyu bowed even lower, nearly bent double at the waist.

"I swear to you, we were just unprepared. We are unaccustomed to visitors of your station. But if you will follow me, I can host you in the fashion you deserve," Shyu insisted.

His grovelling seemed to mollify the girl, who looked down on him with disdain but nonetheless nodded. After a moment she glanced up from sneering at Shyu, casting her gaze around the town.

Sadly Sokka's attempt to gain enhanced vision proved a mistake, as her stare locked onto him. Her deep golden eyes bored into him, as though she could pierce through to his very soul.

"Peasant! Come here." The woman ordered.

Sokka turned his head to the side, hoping in vain that there was someone else to answer her call. But he was all alone. Swallowing, he gingerly crept forward.

Standing before them, he could see the three clearly now. On the right stood a tall, pale girl with shiny black hair and silver eyes. Her face was blank, save for the slightest frown.

To the left was the third and final girl, dressed in vivid pink with a lengthy braid in her light-brown hair. She looked at him with a smile, interest clear in her grey eyes.

But he stood before their leader as she glowered. He regarded her with raised brows, confused as to why he had been summoned.

"Yes, Milady?" He asked after a moment.

It was clearly the wrong thing to say. The look of disapproval intensified, mild shock appearing on the brunette's face and the barest hint of a smile on the black-haired girl.

"It seems as if insolence is commonplace in your town. I'll have to make a note of it," the golden-eyed girl declared. "Take these horses to the stables."

Sokka's eyebrows rose a fraction higher. What did she expect him to do with them?

"I'm no stableboy, I'm a-" He cut himself off at Shyu's frantic headshake. The town leader pleaded silently with him to obey.

"I mean, yes. At once, Milady." It was probably the better option. The guards behind them looked quite unhappy, it wouldn't do to antagonise them.

"Your Highness," the woman corrected him.

Oh hell, he had disrespected royalty. Sokka counted himself lucky that he still had his head.

"At once, Your Highness," he repeated.

Bowing low, he waited for the group to dismount and then took the reins of the horses. Thankfully they were docile beasts and gave him no trouble.

He had to stop for a moment to remember to way to the stables, having not been there in several years. Though Master Piandao had his own mount, he left its care to his personal servant Fat.

Sokka lead the three horses into their pens, gagging a bit at the stench of animal musk in the yard. As he secured the last horse into place, he moved onto untying the saddle on its back. It was tightly secured, and he wasn't entirely sure how to undo the know - it was done in a way he was unfamiliar with.

It took him many tries and quite a long time to figure out the knot, but eventually Sokka freed the creature from the saddle. He waited for a moment for the stableboy to retrieve them and then left the yard. Hopefully he'd be able to get back to his forge in peace.

The sun was lower in the sky now. It must have taken him longer to stable the horses than he had thought. With that and the ruined sword, it seemed the whole day had been a waste.

"Still, there are people worse off than me. I wouldn't want to be in Shyu's shoes, forced to deal with that awful princess," Sokka mused to himself as he entered his workshop.

"She's not so bad when you get to know her. A little fierce, but she can be fun sometimes," a cheerful voice sounded.

Sokka swore loudly, falling over his feet. His face smashed against the ground, only inches from the discarded sword. Groaning in pain, he cradled his head and looked up.

The brunette from earlier was sitting on his anvil, gazing down at him in concern. Sokka hurriedly got to his feet, bowing at the waist before her.

"Milady, forgive me. I did not see you there," he said, hissing sharply as the pain spiked.

The girl pushed off the anvil, landing easily on her feet. In a moment she was before him.

"Are you alright? That looked bad," she told him.

Sokka straightened up, a desire to not look weak in front of the pretty girl coursing through him.

"Who, me? Absolutely fine. Never better," he said, his teeth stretching into a strained grin.

"Okay. I'm Ty Lee, what's your name?" The girl questioned, giggling.

"Sokka, at your service Milady," he gave another bow, this one more exaggerated.

Ty Lee smiled widely, glancing around the forge.

"Is this yours?" She asked.

Sokka shook his head.

"No, it belongs to Master Piandao, the town blacksmith and swordmaster. I work for him though."

An idea struck him and he smirked.

"Want to see something I made, though?"

Ty Lee nodded vigourously, jumping up and down a bit like an excited puppy.

"Okay, Milady. Prepare to be amazed."

The blacksmith apprentice headed into the room behind the forge, kicking the broken sword remains to the side as he went. After a moment he reappeared, a long piece of leather held in his hand.

Closer examination revealed that it was a sword sheath. The pommel and guard were golden in colour, and the grip was covered in brown leather. But as he unsheathed the blade, it was a deep obsidian, shining in the dying light of the coal embers.

Ty Lee's eyes grew wide as she beheld the sword. It was truly a marvel, the craftsmanship was unmistakeable.

"Wow, Sokka. That's amazing," the noble girl told him.

He preened slightly under her praise, puffing out his chest.

"Well, I had a good teacher. I'm not too bad at using it too, actually. Maybe I can show you sometime, Milady?"

Her smile was dazzling, before she frowned.

"I don't know how long we're staying. Azula didn't seem very happy to be here," Ty Lee said.

Sokka was disappointed but nodded.

"Well, if you're ever in the area, I'm always around,"

Beaming at him, Ty Lee shot forward and suddenly kissed him on the cheek. He froze in place as she rushed out of the door.

After a moment he relaxed. He wasn't used to nobility, but that seemed like unusual behaviour.

Despite himself, Sokka couldn't help but smile.


End file.
